Commercial Dog Food Calculators
Go beyond the number printed on the packet. Learn how moisture changes the way nutrients appear on a dog food label, convert analytical constituents to Dry Matter Basis, and understand what those figures can and cannot tell you about a food.
Analytical Constituents
Why the number on the packet is only the first part of the story
Dog food labels usually report analytical constituents as the food is sold. That is useful information, but it includes the water in the food. When two foods contain very different amounts of moisture, comparing those label percentages directly can create the wrong impression.
The label is usually as fed
An as-fed percentage describes the nutrient as a proportion of the whole food, including its water. A fresh or wet food can therefore show a lower protein percentage simply because water makes up more of the product.
Moisture changes the context
A food containing 70% water has only 30% dry matter. A dry food containing 8% water has 92% dry matter. Those two labels are not describing nutrients against the same physical base.
DMB creates a fairer comparison
Dry Matter Basis removes moisture mathematically, allowing protein, fat, fibre and ash to be compared as a percentage of the part of the food that is not water.
The same label percentage can mean something very different once water is accounted for
12% protein, 70% moisture
26% protein, 8% moisture
Dry Matter Basis Calculator
Enter the analytical constituents exactly as they appear on the food label. If moisture is declared, enter it directly. If a kibble label does not declare moisture, you can choose the 10% moisture estimate option. The other fields are optional, although completing every field allows the tool to provide an estimated carbohydrate by difference.
Enter the food label
Use the percentages shown under analytical constituents rather than values from the ingredients list or feeding guide.
Your result
DMB shows the nutrient concentration within the non-water portion of the food.
How the calculation works
We first calculate the percentage of the food that remains after water is removed. Each entered nutrient is then expressed as a percentage of that dry matter.
What each part of a commercial dog food label is actually telling you
A percentage only makes sense in context. Use this guide to separate analytical data from the ingredient list, additives, feeding instructions and the legal description of the food.
Five label terms that are easy to misread
Protein
Crude protein measures total nitrogen-derived protein content. It does not identify the protein source, amino acid profile, digestibility or biological value.
Oils & Fats
This is the crude fat fraction. It does not show the balance of individual fatty acids, including EPA, DHA, linoleic acid or the freshness and stability of the fat source.
Fibre
Crude fibre is a laboratory measure and can substantially underrepresent total dietary fibre. It should not be read as a complete measure of fermentable, soluble or insoluble fibre.
Ash
Ash represents the mineral residue left after the organic portion of the food is burned during analysis. It is not an ingredient called ash and it is not automatically a sign of filler.
Moisture
Moisture is the water content of the food. It is the key value needed to convert the other percentages to Dry Matter Basis and compare foods with different water contents more fairly.
What Dry Matter Basis does not tell you
DMB is a useful comparison method, not a quality score. A higher result is not automatically better, and a lower result is not automatically worse.
DMB cannot tell you where a nutrient came from, how ingredients were sourced or how heavily they were processed.
Two foods can display similar protein percentages while providing very different digestibility and amino acid availability.
DMB compares nutrient concentration, not calories per gram or the amount of food a dog needs to eat to meet energy requirements.
A food can have appealing DMB values and still be unsuitable as a sole diet if it is complementary rather than complete or not appropriately formulated for the dog.
Life stage, health status, body condition, activity, digestive tolerance and therapeutic needs can all change what an appropriate nutrient profile looks like.
Carbohydrate by difference is an estimate. Crude fibre methodology and label rounding mean it should not be treated as a laboratory-measured digestible carbohydrate value.
Want to understand the whole label, not just the percentages?
Read The Balanced Canine's complete pet parent guide to composition, analytical constituents, additives, label terminology and the information that can be hidden behind front-of-pack marketing.